10 key concepts to understand UX

Posted by KingEclient on 17 May, 2019

User Experience (UX) is the process of creating products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. According to the Interaction Design Fundation, this involves the design of an entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, usability, design and function.

Basically, UX is the set of factors and elements that reference a level of total satisfaction of users when they use a product or system. The result of UX is the generation of a positive or negative perception of the service, product or device – that is, if users like it or not.

This perception not only depends of factors related to design but also emotions, feelings and trust, among others. Really truly successful products create a powerful emotional connection with their users, as they evoke positive feelings that change the users’ states, creating a memorable experience.

UX is based on diverse concepts that are crucial to understand it. Here are 10 of the most important ones:

1. Accessibility

It is the capacity of access to a website for all type of users, regardless of limitations, so they can perceive, understand, interact and navigate the website satisfactorily. It is the result of a ‘design for all’, a type of design that aims to be respectful, safe, functional, affordable and intelligible for everyone.

2. Usability

It is the bare minimum of UX; if your audience can’t use your product, they won’t want to use it – a system’s usability should be effortless. Basically, it is the criteria related to the ease of use of an application or interactive product. It has two main dimensions: objective and subjective. The objective dimension can be measured through observation to distinguish diverse attributes, such as efficiency and efficacy. The subjective dimension is based on the satisfaction of the user and its perception on the product or service.

3. Information Architecture (IA)

It is a discipline based on organizing, classifying, structuring and describing the content of a website, with the aim of satisfying the users’ informative needs with the minimum effort possible.

4. Wireframe

It is a technique used in IA. It consists of a visual guide of the website that defines content and visual distribution. It allows designers to focus on content design before visual design. Want to know how to wireframe a website or app? Check this video:

5. Interaction Design

It is a discipline that refers to the activity and the result of defining the interactive behaviour of a website. It defines which actions will be offered to the user in every moment to understand how the platform will respond to these. It is also known as IxD and it is closely related to IA.

6. Agile UX and Lean UX

These two concepts are often used as synonyms, but they have different functions. Agile UX consists of the UX integration of development methodologies of ‘agile software’, a term for a set of frameworks and practices based on the values and principles expressed on the Manifesto Agile Software Development. However, Lean UX encourages a far more comprehensive view of why a feature exists, the functionality required to implement it, and the benefits it delivers. Lean UX provides a closed-loop system for defining and measuring value.

7. Graphic Design

It consists of designing the graphic or visual aspect of a website. It is very important because it will condition the usability from the very first moment of interaction. With a good graphic design, it is possible to achieve product expressiveness, potentiating its visual identity as part of the communication process.

8. Mobile-First

It is a concept that prioritizes web design for mobile devices obtaining platforms that are more easy to understand and navigate. According to Forbes, as mobile devices increasingly become the place we transact with an application, vendors need to pack more and more functionality into their mobile apps.

9. Target persona

It is the study of users used to add characteristics and important objectives to user data. To develop these studies, fictional users (as known as ‘’personas’’) represent conduct patterns, goals and needs. The benefits of developing personas allow designers to walk in the users’ shoes and actively work to create products and services looking at specific lifestyles, behaviour patterns and motivations.

10. Test A/B

It is a technique that is used in the web design based on introducing a little change in the design to prove the effectivity of each design version. A/B Testing can improve decision-making and help create more successful products.

User Experience design has become increasingly prominent. Software applications have become much more complex and rich in functionality. According to DZone, UX should follow a principle that solely depends on users. To promote good experience and hence brand loyalty, users’ preferences and needs must be considered during designing and development. The most successful brands are always the ones that care about users and create products and services that generate real value to them.